Tony Abbot: misogynist and hypocrite

It really was a pleasure last night watching the most obnoxious weasel in aussie politics, Tony Abbott, getting done over by a fired up Julia Gillard. She was pointing out that his sudden calls against sexism and misogyny could be better applied to himself. Then she spent glorious minutes detailing exactly why Tony Abbott was the last politician in Austrailia who could throw dirt using these charges.

It certainly was the top of the line entertainment for Lyn and myself last night as we hung on every new description of Tony Abbott’s misogynist sins and blatant sexism detailed with places, times, and opinion. It is pretty slow up until the 3rd minute with the weasel smiling and joking. After that it was like watching someone see their political career descend far further than it already is. It is hard to see how many women in aussie would bring themselves to vote for this dickhead after this denunciation.

The Herald-Sun described overseas reaction which has been astonished and largely admiring. I rather suspect that this demonstration in political castration may start setting a trend and a standard for dealing with misogynists in politics from this point on.

Such a defence for Peter Slipper, the subject of this debate, appears to have done what he needed to do earlier based on evidence from the court that got released into the public domain of his personal thoughts. He resigned as Federal Speaker shortly after the speech

In the UK, the conservative Telegraph described the speech as a “brilliant political pivot”, saying she had turned “defending the indefensible” (the Peter Slipper scandal) into a speech that cleverly shifted the focus of the entire news story.

“Watching a female Prime Minister tear apart the male leader of the Opposition with such aplomb, composure – but most importantly armed with a brilliantly impressive set of insults – backed up with dates and times of when each shocking comment was said – was the best card Gillard, ever the political animal, could have played in such a situation,” the reporter said.

A blogger at the influential Business Insider linked to the video, with the headline “An Australian politician shrinks in embarrassment, as the prime minister destroys him for being a misogynist”. The article became a social media hit, spreading across Twitter and Facebook.

Social media helped spread news of the speech, with “Gillard” hitting the top ten Twitter trends in Australia and also trending internationally.

Related

159 comments on “Tony Abbot: misogynist and hypocrite”

felix is probably talking about when the Greens ended up NOT signing a new Memorandum of Understanding with National, as reported here in April 2012.

The National Government’s lurch to the right has scuppered prospects of a new policy deal between it and the Greens, the smaller party says, but National claims the Greens wanted policies that were unaffordable.

Depends what you mean about “Greens” here. I have voted Green Party in the last few elections, because they same further left than Labour of late. I’m not really a greenie first, but primarily am left wing. I would vote Labour if they were a more left wing party. I probably spend more time criticising the NActgovernment than Labour.

Yes, it is an excellent demolition of Abbott. Also it was really good to see a woman PM publicly call out the opposition for using sexism and misogyny to try to undermine her.

In NZ the NActs and their unacknowledged propaganda wing, on and off-line used similar tactics of misogynistic whispering and sexist snearing against Clark when she was PM. Clark always tried to stay above it by not publicly acknowledging it.

Personally I’m far more inclined to verbally gut hypocrites and other such arseholes and to drag them out into full view to have a public viewing of their entrails. I find that it is good for them (and it certainly amuses me). I particularly like doing it for the small minded dicks like Whaleoil, Henry and Farrar who Stephen Joyce and other National strategists were using to peddle their vile forms of misogny to the kiwiblog and talkback crowds in 2004-2008.

It’d have been far easier to do them over if Helen had ripped them one. Unfortunately she was more concerned with running the country than playing in their sewer. It was probably the only reason that she didn’t win a 4th term – which was somewhat unfortunate as the National MP’s have been proving for 4 years that the only thing that they’re good at is running the country down.

But what else do you expect from people who seem to think that males are the only ones biologically enhanced to lead – as Abbott has suggested…

Oh I can imagine. I have been there frequently. The difference I suspect is that I try to make an effort to do better next time. Whereas in my opinion you seem to regard stupid failures as being a reason to do the same damn thing over and over again.

And in this vein, since you are in my view simply trying to divert my post without contributing to the discussion, you will not put any more comments in it. If I see you back here again then I will give you a long holiday from the site. If you want to respond to this comment, then you can do so in OpenMike.

It’s an astonishing speech. Abbott looks shocked, and then at times, he seems to be seething with anger that anyone would dare call him out on his misogyny.

This bit comes early on in the speech, and I think it’s the moment when Abbott realised that he was going to lose this one.

I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not.
The government will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man.
Not now, not ever.
The leader of the opposition says that people who hold sexist views & who are misogynist are not appropriate for high office.
Well I hope the leader of the opposition has got a piece of paper and is writing out his resignation. If he wants to see what misogyny looks like in modern Australia he doesn’t need a motion in the house of representatives. He needs a mirror.

And from non-political friends in Australia, I hear that Abbott’s treatment of women is now being discussed very widely. I think this could be a turning point for him. Malcolm Turnball waiting in the wings?

…I hear that Abbott’s treatment of women is now being discussed very widely

It is going to be interesting looking at the political fallout from this speech.

The reporting of the Jones gaffe with the dickheads at the young liberals including senior members of the liberals soaking it up really opened up this political dimension. With the revelations in court about Spinner coming so hard on the heels of that, it made this just a perfect way to slice and dice Abbott.

Aussie politics is as hard as nails as it is. But Abbott really did bring it to a new low in my opinion by taking up the nastiest parts of divide and rule strategies from around the world. Bearing in mind his dropping poll numbers, it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets rolled in the next couple of months. I hope he doesn’t. I think he will be the liability that keeps giving for Labour and the Greens after this.

Abbott is nasty and the Liberals should lose with him at the helm. He stabbed Turnbull in the back and malcolm’s not one to forget and he’s quite simply a toxic fitness freak born again nut job whose only strategy is capitalise on the gov’t weaknesses.

His time at Sydney uni’s been redacted to protect him by his mates as he allegedly punched a wall next to the woman who he lost a student council election to.

If we had an MSM half as persistent with some amount of integrity like Oz’s shonky and co would have been viscerated in their first term. Recent survey’s show the value of a proper public broadcaster with their high %’s in the trusted stakes.

It was a dreadful shame the way whaleshit and his crummy gang pilloried Helen Clark but the blame for that must go fairly and squarely on the shoulders of Brian Edwards.
He let his personal battle with the Boagey completely overwhelm his sensibilities and allowed Joyce and his organisation to flood the airwaves with rightwing nonsense and no one did a damm thing.

+1 Yes I think brain edwards is highly overated and yesterdays man by some distance but also Clark’s weakness was also her strength. Close allies like king/mallard also made them look very tired and old school with trevor to this day being a liability.

In the run up to the last Aussie election there was a scene of Tony Abbot exiting the surf wearing brief yellow togs, one commenter remarked that he “was all smuggler and no budgie” confirmed by the distinct lack of bulge typically present with this garment.

Peoples physical appearance should not matter but ask any female politician about their experiences!

Do men and women have an equal physiological, temperamental, characterial, etc predisposition to power and leadership?

I would maintain that they do not but would be interested to hear how and why they do. After all the sexes seem to differ in physiology, temperament, character, etc on many other features of humanwoman existence, so why would this particular feature be any different?

No, they don’t. The great majority of studies show that there is far more variation within gender than between genders, and that many of the character traits associated with leadership etc. are learned, not innate.

Fair enough, happy to hear so, if that is the case. But further, why then does history appear to indicate that men do have such a predisposition – evidenced by men being in power and leadership most of the time?

And a bit more further. I understand the within-gender compared to between-gender, but that does in fact indicate also that there is a between-gender difference, which would seem to support my initial contention.

Yawn alright mr kotahi… It is impossible to ask questions on this site that don’t fit with the norms. If you do step outside the bounds you just get labelled and assumptioned and poked at.

And who said anything about being on top? That just reflects on your own outlook about the positioning of things in society and what is top. And as for white? Why do you suggest that? What has that got to do with my question? You come across as a bigot.

As far as I am concerned it is an entirely legitimate question. There are countless physiological differences between the world’s peoples and it confounds me as to why, on some issues, the differences are simply ignored. Seemingly to fit the political settings of the day.

“”See if this helps: “why then does history appear to indicate that [white] men do have such a predisposition – evidenced by [white] men being in power and leadership most of the time.””

You have not answered my question.

As to your own question, that is clearly complete and utter bullshit and you need to get your head out of its small white paradigm. Last time I looked back through history white men had no such position of power and leadership most of the time. Get your facts right dumbarse.

“Your question is bullshit, based on the false and self-serving assumption that the old status quo is evidence of some sort of natural order.”

I have asked if it is some sort of natural order, not stated that it is some sort of natural order.

And not only are you are a dumbarse for thinking that the white man has ruled the world forever but you also seem incapable of reading. I made no such assumption – it was a suggestion that that has been the status quo. You can see that if you read the words “… history appear to indicate …” leaving ample room for that particular statement to be disputed.

Instead of just blurting out like the reactionary bigot you are, try reading and thinking sometimes.

I don’t think that white men have ruled the world forever, fool – that was a rhetorical device (which you failed to grasp until I had to explain it to you). It is amusing to be described as a bigot by you of all people though, especially under a post about a bigot having his hypocrisy destroy him.

You’ve stated your position (that men are born to rule), advocated for it, advanced anecdotal evidence that you think supports it. When Deborah explained the facts of the matter to you, you simply dismissed her remarks and went back to your advocacy. This is also amusing in this context.

“You’ve stated your position (that men are born to rule)” No I didn’t.

“, advocated for it” No I didn’t

“, advanced anecdotal evidence that you think supports it.” No I didn’t

“When Deborah explained the facts of the matter to you, you simply dismissed her remarks and went back to your advocacy.” No I didn’t.

I asked a simple question but it was just so utterly predictable that some small-brained self-appointed censor on this site would get their knickers in a twist at such a question being asked.

You just don’t like certain questions. You can’t handle them. You have a small mind bounded by race and gender issues defined for you by others. Try thinking for yourself. And reading what people post.

Just like kotahi there is no answer to my question. It was simple. Deborah is the only one who has been good enough to offer an answer, which I acknowledged and expanded on. You and kotahi just attack the person. As always alway always.

You are as bound up as Kotahi on all sorts of issues. You lot seem utterly incapable of even contemplating that your set-in-concrete views may not stand the test of time. You are over-confident that your views are correct.

Does it ever occur to you that maybe your views are not right or balanced?

“Do men and women have an equal physiological, temperamental, characterial, etc predisposition to power and leadership? I would maintain that they do not but would be interested to hear how and why they do. After all the sexes seem to differ in physiology, temperament, character, etc on many other features of humanwoman existence, so why would this particular feature be any different?”

lol – I suggest that you take your own advice and read my remarks, note that my comments address your “argument” – although not in the way you’d like, and then reflect on who exactly is the one making personal remarks (“You have a small mind..”)

Oh, and the irony of double standards being displayed in a thread about double standards? Thanks for that

“But further, why then does history appear to indicate that men do have such a predisposition – evidenced by men being in power and leadership most of the time?”

It’s called the patriarchy. We live in systems that reward (white) men for certain kinds of behaviours by giving them more power than everyone else. One those systems are established, they are hard to undo because the people that benefit the most from them have the most to lose if things change.

It’s social, not biological. Other systems have and do exist.

Women and men naturally have different leaderships styles (even allowing for the variation within each gender). I’m sure this is true for other genders too. But within our patriarchal system it is hard to see. Women going into parliament for instance will do better if they learn to play with the boys, rather than exhibiting other kinds of leadership behaviour. Some women will find this easier and be better adapted to it, other women won’t survive or will be corrupted by it. You can see this played out in the women that choose to get out of parliament before it is too late, and those that stay.

The reason that Kotahi is ridiculing you, as far as I can tell (although I got bored and didn’t read all of the interchange, and tend to agree with you that his posts are not helpful), is because the idea that men are naturally better at leadership is ridiculous.

I agree with marty, there are lots of things to read and learn about this. You make a very basic mistake with the assumption that because men have for part of history of some cultures been the dominant leaders that this is natural (ie biological). But a wider view of history (and other disciplines) tells us otherwise.

But I need to correct something – I did not (I think) state that because it has existed historically then it is natural, I asked whether because it has existed historically it is natural. I asked the question, I did not state the fact. It may not have been presented clearly although a careful reading will note the specific.

“No. It has been explained to you, ad nauseam, that the differences within genders are larger than the differences between them, and that leadership is a learned trait.

I was asking about the differences between. There is a difference between. If the differences within are so great as to neutralise the differences between then the differences between would surely be immeasureable, but this is not the case (see Deborah’s original answer).

Also, leadership is not a learned trait, leadership, according the great authority Deborah, is both learned and inate (see Deborah’s original answer).

Nope, as explained below, the fact (that differences within the genders are stronger than differences between them, and leadership is a learned trait), gives rise to a second – and I believe more compelling – possibility – which is that the genders are equally cut out for leadership.

Simple – the former dwarfs the latter, especially in the light of the fact that leadership is a learned trait, which if you think clearly, has the potential to negate the biologically determined gender differences altogether.

At school there’s a bully. He and his friends are always at the front of the queue. When he leaves school, his little sister and her friends always get to be at the front of the queue and coincidentally her big brother is known to loiter around the school gates to beat the shit out of anyone who picks on his little sister.

This could tell you something about entrenched systems of power and privilege, or we could just assume that front-of-queuing ran in their family.

Do men and women have an equal physiological, temperamental, characterial, etc predisposition to power and leadership?

You obviously haven’t met too many members of my extended family. The woman tend towards leadership positions just as much as the men do. They usually operate in a different style, but well within the range of styles that the men do. Over the generations the limiting factor appears to have been more their access to training and opportunity.

I suspect that most of the ‘power and leadership’ skills are simply learnt skills. You learn them initially off family and enhance them with training and experiences.

A lot of the social differences in the past have to do with reproductive constraints and simple body mass in a much less sophisticated social environs. In the absence of effective contraceptive prevention, young women either had to be celibate or infertile to not spend an awful amount of time either pregnant or nursing (when they didn’t die in childbirth). This is quite clear in any ancient history that you read.

And whenever the dispute of leadership got down to simple body mass, then even given equal skills in fighting the person with the most body mass would usually win. Since there are relatively few young women with body masses greater than young men especially in days with more limited diets during adolescence (ie during the period when women’s reproductive organs chew so much of their diet), it was never a level playing field.

These days in most western societies we have better diets, control on contraception, and legal structures that tend to treat assault as being punishable and not the mark of leadership. The historical constraints have largely been lifted. So we’re finding more women moving into leadership roles. They seem to be not that much different from males in the roles. Just a different distribution in the range of styles in my experience.

But that has pretty much only happened from just prior to my generation onwards where you find them in general leadership roles. The women I worked with in my generation or who went through the MBA with me were still repeatably hitting glass ceilings of various types.

Since the differences between genders are minor compared to the differences between them, and leadership is a learned trait, that gives rise to the possibility that the measured differences between the genders can be fully explained by these two factors.

Especially in light of experience – to whit – now some of the barriers have been removed, and the playing field has been levelled somewhat (but not much, and there’s room for it to be levelled more), we have a new status quo. Whats the problem again?

Some reading for you, vto, since you have expressed your interest in just exploring these ideas and just learning a little bit about it. There’s quite a lot of reading here, but given your comemnts above, I’m sure you will be reading every word of it, and reflecting on it before coming back to this comment thread.

1. A great majority of studies.
2. There is variation within genders.
3. There is variation between genders.
4. Leadership is both learned and innate.

You’ve left out the most important bit, that the great majority of research shows that “there is far more variation within gender than between genders….” That is by no means the same as your 2. and 3. Your gloss on my words is disingenuous at best.

Nowhere did you ask “why are white men historically leaders?” and I don’t know what purpose Kotahi’s racial addition serve except to divert the question and possibly label you misogynist by proxy for asking a simple question.

Why have men historically been leaders? This would include Mongols like Khan and Mesopotamians like Alexander the Great. Far from white men. Perhaps your feelings on colonialism overshadowed the preceding 1000’s of years of roman, greek, asian, african leaders etc.

But the answer is obvious as to why they were leaders historically. They were groomed, oldest son etc in a time where physical dominance and conquer were the mode of ascension to leadership. You had to lead on the battlefield to earn the respect and trust of your people. A system not even a couple 100 years past and a system that heavily favoured males. It’s understandable that we are still working ourselves out of over 3,000 years of male dominated ruling.

But regardless the actual abilities to lead are surely personality based not gender based. Just because someone can run a battle plan doesn’t make them quality leaders.

It just particularly irked me.
But in the context of showing the false assumption you are right, it doesn’t make it natural.
I see it as “you can train a dog to sit with treats, but it’s only been “trained” into it, it’s nature is not to follow your order”.
Likewise, men have been “trained” since those early days into thinking they are natural leaders. Really the leadership is a combination of cultural handme downs from father to son.

It would be interesting whether long held “training” like this over generations and 100’s of years does change our very nature though? I’d think not

Vto, telling Deborah to “calm down” is about half-a-step from “stop being hysterical” which is a common silencing technique. Reading the entire thread, I think you are on the verge of seeing the partiarchy and sexism for what it really is; keep going! Deborahs link is excellent, and whilst there you should also read these:

FAQ: what is male privilege, and
FAQ: Isn’t the patriarchy…..

and then plow on through the rest of Feminism 101. Follow that with Schrodingers Rapist.

We are so steeped in a virulently misogynistic culture that we aren’t even aware of most of it. Especially (but by no means limited to) the half of “we” that have male privilege.

Fair points made and acknowledged. Deborah, unfortunately I didn’t have time to read it all however if I could distinguish particularly as to my point that there appears to be a difference between the genders on this issue. I acknowledge your point that there is a greater difference within the sexes and that this may, as you suggest, be more important in a bigger picture. However you acknowledge that there is a difference between the sexes, which was all my question concerned.

Urban Rascal and Lprent, you similarly acknowledge that history indicates more positions of power and leadership for men but that this stems from physical size and also reproduction. Is this not physiological, as I asked?

It seems my initial assumption stands, in a form of sorts.

Taking the issue a little wider – why is this such a concern? (aside from any negatives such as oppression that may arise from it). Who really wants to be a powerful leader? Not many. Those of you lusting after such can keep it. Being a bit flippant I know but I guess this wider point is, to borrow from the French again, a little bit c’est la vie …

We don’t live in an era where physical power has been a major determinative factor in who won leadership battles, nor do women spend much of their life and energy birthing and nursing children where most of them die as they did in my great grandparents times (or many in my grandparents). Physiological differences mean bugger all these days.

Your assumption is crap.

Your same implied logic would indicate that there was something strange about the abolition of slavery. Over the last thousand years we have massively changed the way our societies work because of how we can exert energy and made a similarly massive change in the way that humans enslaved other humans.

Inventing the horse collar started the shift from the widespread economic slavery of humans to using draft animals. It became much more economically feasible to use horses and oxen to do the work of many human slaves while costing a lot less to feed than previously. Within a relatively short few centuries most of the human slavery and even the serfdom variants disappeared as we moved from human energy to animal energy (and then to machine energy).

Technology even killed off the few places where slavery survived as devices to farm and mine got deployed.

Of course you could insist that change also didn’t happen. In which case I have this nice iron collar for you. I will be happy to afix it around your throat … 😈

lprent, I realise that those same societal operational systems don’t apply today. Perhaps the two components of history and today got confused…

It will be interesting to see where society ends up on this issue when those specific historical physiological determinants have been inapplicable for, say, a good couploe hundred years or more. Perhaps there are other physiological determinants that still exist and not noticed yet? Or perhaps the current imbalance in gender leadership and power is a result of a lack of passing of time since those historic ones disappeared and that the imbalance will completely disappear…

Wouldn’t mind living for 500 years to see. As for the iron throat collar that would be no problema – the calluses are well toughened…

How society deals with the shifts is still evolving pretty rapidly. But the evolving changes regarding gender are barely a century and a half old resulting firstly from the rise of the machine and latterly from effective contraception. You don’t have to look far into the 19th century to when women in most “western” countries were legally regarded as part of the estate of their male protector, were not allowed to legally own property in their own name, not allowed to get an useful education, and weren’t allowed to vote.

Hell, my mother went to night school and subsequently university as an adult student in the 1970’s. That was because in the 50’s her parents couldn’t see the sense of sending a girl, even a bright one, to school past 5th form when her younger and dumber brother might need more schooling. She was the first in any of our families to get a university education.

Now our families have female operations managers, lawyers, biochemists, army officers, programmers, a few heading off to become professional company directors and god knows what else (why would I keep up?). That has all happened within the last 40 years. The proportion of women in my family heading directly for leadership positions is at least as much and probably more than the men.

What made me not like him was when he criticized Gillard concerning the Aboriginal Protest on Australia Day. Just before they left the building, Gillard organized the police rescue to ensure Abbott was safe. Abbott then turned around and blamed Gillard for the protest, after it was his remarks earlier in the day that had caused an escalation. What a dickhead! It’s how people act under pressure that often shows if they’re competent leaders or not.

Having Abbott as PM of Australia would be nearly as bad as having Romney as President of the US.

Having Abbott as PM of Australia would be nearly as bad as having Romney as President of the US.

Top point Jack. Along with Abbott’s arse on a platter, Julia’s delivered a resounding message to the global left.

The entire modern Natz machine is based on the twin filths of Brash’s racism and the Helenhate campaign. The current Bennybash pus is more of the same.

Faith in kiwi decency to see through lies and deliberate hatemongering is simply not enough in the face of the media onslaught available to Money. Julia has made the crucial breakthrough with vim – and the net.

Comes a time, even on the higher moral plain, to deal to vermin with force. Watch Julia again: then pick up that whip, Labour and Greens, and drive those moneychangers out.

I hope Shearer was watching and learning how it’s done.
This was an inspirational speech for us lefties – long may it resound in the halls of parliament, hopefully it will inspire our Labour Party and kick them into gear.

I don’t know. I think depending on how it is spun, we could see the resignation as Gillard et al allowing some dignity to Slipper and showing that the coalition can/will make appropriate decisions rather than buying into what was clearly a politically motivated, double standard based move on behalf of the opposition.

After all, they will want his vote from this point on; they couldn’t afford to publicly alienate and shame him. Besides, Gillard was right – Abbott is clearly a sexist a-hole and was jumping on a bandwagon rather than on a point of principle.

“the rise of Julia Gillard as Australia’s first female prime minister, so celebrated by leading feminists such as writer Anne Summers and Germaine Greer. Both are unstinting in their applause of Gillard, the “remarkable woman” who on 27 February saw off a challenge from Kevin Rudd, the former Labor prime minister she deposed in a secretive, essentially macho backroom coup in 2010…

…Omitting entirely Gillard’s politics, [ Greer ] asked, “What’s not to like? That she’s a woman, that’s what. An unmarried, middle-aged woman in power – any man’s and many women’s nightmare”…

…That Gillard might be a nightmare to the Aboriginal women, men and children whom this quintessential machine politician has abused and blamed for their impoverishment, while implementing punitive and racist measures against their communities in defiance of international law, is apparently not relevant…

…That Gillard has pledged to keep Australian soldiers in Afghanistan indefinitely and that the overwhelming majority of those killed or wounded has happened during her period as prime minister, is beside the point…

…Gillard’s feminist distinction, perversely, is her removal of gender discrimination in combat roles in the Australian army. Thanks to her, women are now liberated to kill Afghans and others who offer no threat to Australia, just like their comrades in “hunter-killer” units currently accused of massacring civilians…

…Who spoke out against Julia Gillard’s junket to Israel in the wake of the massacre of 1400 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, and her unctuous support for their killers?…

…Hillary Clinton was applauded by famous feminists for her support for the west’s invasion of Afghanistan to “liberate women from the Taliban”. No matter that this was never the reason; no matter that tens of thousands were killed and maimed as a consequence. In her 2008 campaign for the White House, Clinton, supported by feminists such as Anne Summers, boasted that she was prepared to “annihilate” Iran…”

And I see the heroic Julian Assange ( feared and loathed by the rape culture fantasy fembots, felix, Queen of Manhaters et al ) is looking to press charges against your girl pal Gillard for lying about him.

What a pathetic bunch you are, behaving like teenage girl fans, I wouldn’t be surprised if you scrawled “I ‘heart’ Julia” in lipstick on your foreheads.

Unlike Pilger (and you as far as I can see), I’m far less interested in doctrines than I am in effective politics. After all almost the entirety of Pilgers statements could have as easily been applied to any female (or male) politician – which does beg the question of if Planet Pilger is a more remote universe than Planet Key key.

In fact if you substituted the name Clark in there and shifted from Aboriginal to Maori then I suspect that he’d could have written exactly the same thing about Helen Clark or any actual female politician that has ever existed.

I take Pilger with the large grain of scepticism, just as I do for any religious fanatic chasing illusions. In my opinion, you fit that category pretty well yourself. As does Assange

None of that means that such nuts are not useful. I like reading Pilger because of his depth of knowledge about the topics that he writes on. While Assange was doing a pretty good job of increasing governmental transparency and although I find that the accusations in Sweden and the subsequent weirdo legal procedures are about as convincing as the US denying that they tortured prisoners, I treat anything that he says as being more ego driven than sensible. And irritating mosquito’s like yourself have to be useful for something – keeping us awake perhaps?

What I was pointing out was that while her speech was vastly amusing, it was also how politically effective it was. That appears to have been a point that completely escaped your attention. Probably because it requires you to think about your opinion at a depth that is deeper than simply cutting and pasting others people’s words without understanding.

Good speech or not (and you can’t judge it without seeing Abbott’s beforehand), unfortunately the stench of corruption around Gillard means she will be replaced by Rudd before the next election.

Hiring the ex New Labour McTernan to run a hit campaign on Abbott has not gone down well in Australia.

Rave reviews by foreign activists who only saw an edited highlights package put together by McTernan are meaningless – they don’t vote – and the voters of Australia don’t want her, in increasing numbers.

*sigh* It is called administering an education and it is almost a traditional way of bringing large numbers of newbies up to speed on what happens when they game play on sysop’s systems.

If you ever look at it carefully (and so few ever do), I typically respond in exactly the same or very similar vein as the person making the comment I am replying to – except I can do it better because of the decades I have been either reading or making comments. Sometimes I will respond in a antithesis mode to demonstrate what they should have done. I also have a big club – so the people I am responding to in the manner that you describe tend to take notice.

If they say something dickish that makes vast presumptions about others, then I will do exactly the same thing back to them – except usually somewhat nastier. If they are deliberately nasty or inflammatory, then I demonstrate how to really do it in a more nasty and obnoxious manner straight back at them. If they make vague hand-waving assertions then I often do the anti-thesis and specifically point out how they are wrong.

Sure I’m as opinionated as hell – especially about my opinions on people that I have to read every day. And I like making my points with a rock splitting chisel – but that is just my nature.

However there is a deliberate method and purpose in the techniques that I use. I prefer sticking the needle in to people who are acting like dicks to train them in why they should avoid certain practices. If not me, then eventually some old hand will come along and tear them a spare rectum – probably one larger than they require. It seems like a better technique than exerting effort simply banning people – which ultimately doesn’t teach much and is bad for wide ranging robust discussion.

The technique in comments I make tend to be directly targeted at the people I am responding to. Which is why you’ll find many people have never had any “insults/anger/abuse” and some get rather a lot when they are newbies like KP, or deliberately baiting like KK.

You should learn to observe somewhat more deeply, learning to manage something like this site is an artform. If you want to see what we have come from and what we’re trying to correct, then go back and look at the archives in late 2007 and early 2008. Boring and largely uninformative discussion that looks like a trademe political forum. Having myself or Irish or some of the other moderators around being really obnoxious is the penalty cost to having debates like the one above.

“Appreciate that you are not “TS”, but I will say reading how many insults/anger/abuse you manage to insert into some of your comments, for me at least does not reflect well, generally speaking.”

Wholeheartedly agree, and that is one of the reasons I don’t often bother commenting. The childish behaviour and intolerance of opposing views ruins what is otherwise a reasonable alternative to the mainstream media.

We encourage robust debate and we’re tolerant of dissenting views. But this site run for reasonably rational debate between dissenting viewpoints and we intend to keep it operating that way.

etc….

What “robust debate” means is that moderators don’t try to keep more than a minor lid on people of opposing views, and as the rest of the policy explains this means discouraging behaviour that will affect the actual operation of the site. But we are interested in hearing from a wide range of viewpoints and letting them argue. If they go at it hammer and tongs, then we encourage them to not do it so stupidly that it bores the hell out of other readers – especially the moderators.

We seldom ever see any real agreement. Mostly what we see is people occasionally agreeing to disagree, sometimes fighting each other to sodden heap on the OpenMike floor where they have nothing left to say, and that usually takes a while. But with having a pretty open system complete with absolutely no need to register then you will get tempers flaring. Generally it works for what this site was set up to foster – disagreement between dissenting viewpoints being expressed and argued about in public.

If people want quieter environments then there are many of them around the local net. But they often wind up as being somewhat less interesting simply because people argue a lot more politely and don’t say what they really think.

There’s a big difference between robust debate and insults/abuse/anger. One encourages both parties to openly discuss their opinions in a logical and factual manner, the other is used to try and shame people into shutting up, and actually shuts down reasonable discussion, or escalates it to the point where it becomes nonsensical.

I wouldn’t expect people to agree all the time, and many people for some reason enjoy sparring with people on the net (suppressed aggression that cant be taken out on actual people around them I guess), but there is such a thing as respect, and the odd thing I see in the comments on here from some of those who enjoy insulting others, is that they demand respect but have no idea how to show respect to others.

I don’t often read the comments anyway, I mainly visit for the actual articles (amazing I know but not everybody wants to be an internet warrior), so I won’t be looking for a “quieter environment” with less interesting, but “polite” people to engage with. If you want to allow the insults/abuse/anger to continue that is your business but please don’t try to pass it off as “robust debate”.

I know this will come across as self-serving, but the fact is that anger – even abuse – have a place in debate – even if only to denote failure of argument.

I believe that Aristotle described the value of comedy in argument, the power of laughter, and if he did so he was certainly right. But consider the intent of that comedy – no-one likes to be laughed at (especially people who cannot tell the difference between laughter at their argument and their person), and in the event that an argument cannot be found in the moment, this gives rise to anger, or further thought, a better argument, or sometimes acquiescence.

Is the anger the fault of the comedian? It nonetheless is a vital part of debate.

Well the difference in attitude probably comes from the fact that the moderators would have to do the work required to hit your preferred standard – not you. To do the social engineering required to hit something that you’d find acceptable will involve a lot more work for something that we don’t feel is particularly useful.

We decided what type of debate was wanted 5 years ago just after the site was set up and that is what we decided was defined as “robust”. There really hasn’t been much of a change or even discussion on that particular point over the years. That is despite having replaced virtually all of the authors and moderators during that time and having had several arguments over other topics and shifts of format.

And of course this is all volunteer work and done in our ‘spare’ time (in my case right now while I wait for boost and Qt to recompile for a arm system), so I suspect that the 40 authors are quite aware of how much work would be required to achieve it and unwilling to undertake the task. We only ever seem to get that particular criticism from people who don’t think about it too much and don’t do anything similar.

I don’t often read the comments anyway, I mainly visit for the actual articles (amazing I know but not everybody wants to be an internet warrior),

Less than a 20th of the human readers actually write comments at all. Umm… your 19 comments now ranks you at 1171 amongst the 2272 ‘people’ who have commented here in our 5 year history. And since we routinely get more 30 thousand people (measured by googles cookies) reading the site each month (not counting RSS or machines), you are already a “internet warrior” compared to any normal reader, let alone a normal person.

“you are already a “internet warrior” compared to any normal reader, let alone a normal person.”

Yes, and compared to Bill Gates, John Key is a pauper. Just saying…….

This is the kind of petty diversion I am talking about, it distracts from the real issues and leads to people chasing their own tails trying to explain themselves. While many people find it entertaining, it is frustrating for a lot of us who just want to read the more intelligent contributions, and I know there are plenty of those because I used to wade through to find them. I guess it really depends on what type of person you want to attract to the site, people who want to discuss relevant issues like adults or people who want to behave like politicians.

Pilger is almost the Fox News of “the left”. While he has a lot right, his assertions need to be double checked. Not so much in fact, but interpretation (the difference between him and Fox). Just IMO, of course.

You gleefully post about how Feminist heroine Gillard stuck it to the sexist pig opposition leader.

Ah no. Re-read it and drop your strange presumptions this time. Read what is on the page ratehr than what you think I said.

In fact I mentioned Julia Gilard exactly once, twice if you count the word ‘she’. I mentioned Tony Abbott many of times both by name and as weasel and as ‘he’. Some of the peices that I quoted mentioned both of them.

What I was talking about was mostly the damage that had been done to Tony Abbott and that it had been done by pointing out his hypocrisy and misogyny. In fact that was the title of the post…

He has identified the propaganda of our elites and their atrocities, he has revealed their illusion they have created for us the public.

There is a big difference between straight facts (which Pilger is good at extracting) and the spin that is put on it (which shows through in everything that Pilger writes). I trust Pilger to have his facts correct, however he usually only presents one explanation for most things that he writes and I usually feel that he started with the conclusion he wanted and worked backwards to the facts. It makes for good simple story telling, but usually makes me feel that there is a good conspiracy fanatic beneath it. A really good analyst would present the alternate theories even as they demolish them.

But you are currently not even up to that standard based on your comments. In my opinion you display all of the mindless devotion of frogs eyes. When detached from a frog they will not fire signals along the nerves when a dead fly is swung in front of them ‘flying’ backwards, but will when it is swung forwards. In other words you are seeing what you expect/want to see, not what is actually there.

This is a pretty amazing example of signal processing. If you looked at how few neurons and processing power that produce that result you’d realize that our DSP’s are crude by comparision. But the mindless automata seeing what it expects to see is good enough for frogs. However it doesn’t exactly cut it when reading political blogs.

“Do men and women have an equal physiological, temperamental, characterial, etc predisposition to power and leadership? I would maintain that they do not but would be interested to hear how and why they do. After all the sexes seem to differ in physiology, temperament, character, etc on many other features of humanwoman existence, so why would this particular feature be any different?”

So do men and women have an …. equal predisposition to power? Does one want to rule more than the other? Is one more capable of ruling than the other? It should be obvious that they both want to rule the same amount, though often in different styles.

Pick the influence of your female god of choice, or female historical leader of choice and compare it to a male god or a male historical leader. See how Matriarchs are leaders and Patriarchs are leaders, both demanding that they are served. It’s all just an element of power. One of the sexes isn’t immune from wanting power, abusing it or using it wisely.

Just like gods, some people have the idea that because they are male or female they have a right to rule. That’s a different question concerning the awareness of the individual. No leader can stop the shift from one pole to the other in the mind of the group – neither has a right to power or divine influence.

Diana could not defend herself against the Christian god – which disciple was more devoted?

Kings follow Queens and vice versa. England’s Queen Elizabeth was succeeded by King James – which does history consider the more capable, the more powerful?

Now that they have a Queen again, what does that prove?

Modern democratic PMs cannot decide if their successor is male or female.

Eras have a story to them. Right now, the story we hear the most about is defined as happening within a Patriarchy. This does not mean women have vanished from the face of the Earth or that they have no power. Check the video and see how much power a woman can have within a modern Patriarchal reality. In all the stories of how women are oppressed, imagine a world where men could not oppress women. With no external easy target to suppress, and under the sudden shock of having to face themselves without a filter, men would tear each other and our world apart in an afternoon. Despite Henry the VIII killing Queen Elizabeth’s mother and removing Elizabeth from her rightful place, he could not foresee that his actions helped to place her as a monarch. There is no way humans can think they are manipulating the way things will be. Though they tried, ancient Kings could not decide the fate of humanity or stop the ascent of the next female monarch. At the time, I imagine the urge held some great importance to them.

Even in being oppressed, the victim has an equal power that maintains a tentative balance, even if our perspective calls it an undesirable one when measured in terms of human suffering. Eradicate the influence of women, you have a problem. Eradicate the influence of men, you have a problem. Gender politics exists somewhere between the all and nothing of what level of influence is best and includes the impossible question of who decides what is best, ignoring the idea that there is such a thing as best.

The problem is easier to confront – but does not go away – when people are face to face and know each other and live together in some form of interdependent social organisation that is not entirely focussed on materialism, but has not completely devolved into the animalistic and unconscious urges of ancient civilisation. As far as constructing a theoretical solution goes, there are three choices: use politics, use religion or use a bit of both.

Politics can’t measure the specific, or pass judgement on personal issues so none of us need think – though some would try. It’s a blunt tool. Pointing at people in Australia and arguing abstracts denies the specifics of the individual and the concrete. It’s like standing on the moon and describing the activities of people on earth; or watching shadows on the wall of Plato’s Cave: you’ll get the general picture, but nothing near the truth.

The closer you personally get, the clearer your picture will be.

How do you want to treat your girlfriend, wife, daughter, niece, neighbour, friend? Who are they? How do you treat them? Why? Does it upset you, sit well with you or is there no emotional connection at all? What do they think about your treatment? When you act, do you do so honestly? Are you acting out of memory, love, tradition, duty, revenge, out of an image of who you think you are, or acting out a culture? Do the police turn up or do things go well? Do you know how these people and things relate to you?

No one can tell you who or what you are. If thinking is your favourite tool, you can ask yourself questions to reach your own answers. It won’t matter much in on a human scale, just to you during your lifetime.

I could not help noticing that Julia had detailed notes to hand, suggesting that
she was well prepared to drop it on him at the appropriate time – and that the
resignation Speaker Slipper was such a time.

It will be interesting to see which way the polls move .. and what emerges from
the Australian Liberal Party.

Gillard’s short speech will remain within world consciousness long after the ramblings of Pilger, Abbot and our own, apparently impaired VTO, have sunk without trace.

Assange, by any Anzac definition is not a man – for he refuses to face accusations of serious crime, and take the opportunity of clearing his name. While at the same time, people and traitors who leaked for him are in detention.

Note the power of Gillard’s opening line: “I will not be lectured about sexism and misogyny by this man. I will not!”

Julia Gillard has armed women with a set of “stop your abuse” words that they have long needed. She has demonstrated courage and defiance. Her strength is colossal. Her male foes are a joke and look like pretentious fools.

Do we have to watch our metaphors so closely even when our meaning is clear? Does it make more sense to say that Assange cannot consider himself a “person”, or a citizen, or free, until he confronts his accusers?

Which he has done. He was interviewed over three weeks and then released.

It was the subsequent dubious and politically compromised circus that he has quite understandably been reluctant to engage with. Besides as you well know, if Sweden was genuine about the allegations and extradition then a simple declaration would have resolved the matter ages ago.

It takes more than readily emptied balls to avoid facing your accusers. It takes long lasting inner character.

It is also the sad hall mark of a traitor to release military secrets when your brother soldiers are putting their lives on the line – dying a bloody death – for their country. Nations do not like traitors – never have and never will.

@Planet Orphan

I agree. Alpha males are the femme fatales of the manly world.

They invariably believe in themselves to the point of self absorbed certainty. I avoid them Orphan

They steal the words of others and sell them vehemently.
All the while knowing they are morons that never had an inspirational thought past “I can steal that”, in their entire lives.
They use emotion and anger as shields for their stupidity, and should be liable for prison when they use the “Stand Over” tactics they invariably employ to compensate/cover said stupidity.

CV is right, Observer: I would add to that the fact that it’s quite clear these documents were available to far too many people to be considered “secure” – the responsibility for that lies further up the chain of command.

David Leigh and The Guardian, along with Daniel Domscheit-Berg, also must take responsibility for the publication of the unredacted cables.

If, as is claimed, the Manning leak was partly responsible for the “Arab Spring” – they may have helped more than they hindered, especially those whose lives were already being put at risk by despots. That remains to be seen.

You are probably a young guy Prometheus and do not realise that the ” ….bunch of power crazed fanatics in Washington ….” saved the world for free people at great cost, as recently as 1943 – to late 1945. The vast British Empire was on its knees and gasping.

The same “bunch of power crazed fanatics in Washington” stared down the horrendously cruel and totally inhuman communists who had much of Europe and Asia by the throat between 1946 and the late 1990s. You are too young to know anything about these facts.

Speech is cheap Kiwi. Have a go at action sometime and learn that freedom and democracy are really very costly items … Then laugh at the men and women who gave their blood for your personal freedom – then and now mate.

I realise at least some of the faults of the English speaking world – Britain and America in particular.

I agree that trade and resources motivate those two countries excessively at times.

But I find it hard to concede that Hitler and Mussolini were a better alternative to Churchill and Roosevelt. Neither do I think the comrades as represented by Stalin and his fellow travellers offered humanity very much – other than barbaric conformity, pain, constant threat and lots of gulag.

I am not sure either that I wish to be under the tender hands of Taliban or other theocratic monsters.

Democracy in the modern world is the gift of America, France and to some extent Britain. Isn’t it? They fought for it bravely long before you were born, and I am glad they did.

these rightwingers have a very hard job calling a spade a spade.
is it just because they are congenital liars or what?
i think pondscum like kingklutz are actually alfalfa androgynes.
they are not really men at all.
thy are like black holes and lampreys.
all they can do is suck.

I read Rod Oram’s Sunday Star-Times column last night, and, more in sadness than anything, found I have to agree to with his assessment: There’s a theory that John Key, Steven Joyce and Bill English have been cunningly carrying out a… ...

Allow me to share a puzzle. Public sector outsourcing (a.k.a. ‘contracting out’) has been increasing in recent decades. It is not the same as ‘privatisation’ because the government retains the role as a funder but it outsources the task to… ...

Allow me to share a puzzle. Public sector outsourcing (a.k.a. ‘contracting out’) has been increasing in recent decades. It is not the same as ‘privatisation’ because the government retains the role as a funder but it outsources the task to… ...

Allow me to share a puzzle. Public sector outsourcing (a.k.a. ‘contracting out’) has been increasing in recent decades. It is not the same as ‘privatisation’ because the government retains the role as a funder but it outsources the task to… ...

Last Thursday, Labour and National presented their thoughts on the 2014 election to Parliament.On Labour’s side, there was an inevitable and welcome move away from linking enrolment and benefit eligibility. Good, and phew.On National’s side, the disturbing suggestions coming from… ...

Last Thursday, Labour and National presented their thoughts on the 2014 election to Parliament.On Labour’s side, there was an inevitable and welcome move away from linking enrolment and benefit eligibility. Good, and phew.On National’s side, the disturbing suggestions coming from… ...

Last Thursday, Labour and National presented their thoughts on the 2014 election to Parliament.On Labour’s side, there was an inevitable and welcome move away from linking enrolment and benefit eligibility. Good, and phew.On National’s side, the disturbing suggestions coming from… ...

. . Our country has been described as “awash by alcohol” by more than one observer. In New Zealand, buying alcohol is easier than buying a car fuse at a petrol station. (I know this, I’ve tried.) On Tuesday 29… ...

Every six months the Ministry of Transport produce a monitoring report on how Auckland is performing against the targets the government set for work to start prior to 2020 on the City Rail Link. As a reminder On 28 June… ...

Press Release – Grey Power New Zealand It is long past time the New Zealand Government took the people into its confidence and explained their position on the TPPA. There is a lot of information floating about through leaks… ...

Press Release – Democrats for Social Credit The Prime Minister and the Trade Negotiations Minister have been handed a golden opportunity to shore up flagging support for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement, says Democrats for Social Credit Deputy Leader,… ...

Press Release – NewsRoom_Plus 1. Police shot and killed a man last night in Myers Park in Auckland. A large marquee has been put up to protect the scene which remains cordoned off. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has been… ...

Since 1984 we have opened our borders to the global market. It is something many have accepted and become accustomed to, yet is still disputed as either the harbinger of capital and posterity, or the degradation of utility for the… ...

Quick March, journal of the Returned Soldiers Association who made support for the White New Zealand policy their number one platform plank by Philip Ferguson Chinese numbers in New Zealand dropped through the 1890s and the first decade of the twentieth… ...

Back around the mid-1990s a number of left publications here ran an article by longtime left activist Peter Lusk about his six months on the dryer line at ‘iconic’ NZ company Fisher & Paykel’s Auckland factory. Peter’s article vividly portrayed… ...

Mike Hosking is an opinionated chap. He’s paid an enormous sum of money to be opinionated, not only as a breakfast talk-back host on the ZB network, but as a Herald columnist and the co-host of TVNZ’s Seven Sharp.… ...

Now that the Maui Ministerial has failed to reach a conclusion, we believe it is time to ensure our Prime Minister and Trade Minister know that kiwis do not want this deal. Send them a letter below! TPPA?… ...

In September last year, David Parker laid a complaint with the Police about a supposed “hack” of the Labour Party website by Whaleoil blogger Cameron Slater. On Friday, Police released a letter explaining that their investigation was over, and they… ...

Via RNZ: Another TPP meeting, another failure to reach agreement. Yet the words used to describe the negotiations did not, once again, talk of defeat. Instead, the joint statement by the TPP Ministers said: “We have made significant progress and… ...

. . Continued from: The slow dismantling of a populist prime minister Amidst the latest scandal swirling around this increasingly desperate National government, the chaos at Serco-run Mt Eden prison is just the latest in a long line of ministerial… ...

The Debunking Handbook is now available in Indonesian. Many thanks to Herendraswari Kusumawardani who did this 10th(!) translation of the handbook. Note to other translators:If you'd like to translate the Debunking Handbook into another language, please contact us (select "Enquiry about… ...

Speech – New Zealand First Party This is Maori Language Week and there is a Maori proverb that should be at the front of every politicians mind.2 AUGUST 2015 New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt… ...

Press Release – TPPA Auckland Call to Action Group The stalling of yesterdays TPPA negotiations in Maui provide light relief for the citizens of New Zealand, but we cannot be complacent in thinking that our Government will not continue on… ...

Police Commissioner Mike Bush on Friday announced that tasers will be deployed for the use of all front-line officers. The reasoning behind tasers emphasises the taser’s potential for de-escalation — a “less-than-lethal” alternative to shooting someone — sometimes on the… ...

Press Release – TVNZ CORIN Mr Groser, can you give us a sense of how disappointing this is that you didnt reach an agreement this week?Q + AEpisode 23TIM GROSER Interviewed by CORIN DANN CORIN Mr Groser, can you… ...

Press Release – New Zealand First Party The TPPA was a botch-up from the start, says New Zealand First Leader and Member of Parliament for Northland Rt Hon Winston Peters.TPPA a botch-up from the start The TPPA was a botch-up… ...

An 18 month old Palestinian toddler is burned to death. The parents of Ali Saad Dawabsheh and 4 yr old brother are in critical conditions with burns up fo 70 % of their bodies. Are we horrified? Well most of… ...

Greece is facing a depression on a scale arguably comparable to the US Great Depression of the late 1920s. Huge unemployment rates and a dramatic drop in family incomes of over 40 percent have Greek citizens pondering what the impacts will be… ...

Image credit: Rachel Knowles – Successful blogging workshop Big problems with Sitemeter The problems with SiteMeter are still bad this month. No data could be obtained for about 50 blogs using SiteMeter. People have also reported strange results. So if… ...

The post-Maui Ministerial Press Conference is just wrapping up, where Ministers yet again were unable to conclude a deal. The Press Conference was heavy on platitudes but light on detail of actual progress, with Ministers trailing out the oft-repeated mantras around… ...

If New York can make most of Central Park car free, then why can’t we do the same with the Domain. That was my thought when watching this video from Streetfilms. Last week, people walking and biking on the Central… ...

Grim Faces And Patriotic Words: With a few, well-chosen, words, Key could place the 2017 General Election beyond the Opposition’s grasp. The Left has been clamouring for New Zealand’s negotiators to reject the TPPA in its current form. But… ...

. . On 14 December, 2010, there was great excitement and jubilation in the Beehive when then-Corrections Minister Judith Collins announced; “This Government is committed to a world-class Corrections system in New Zealand. To achieve that, we must have access… ...

. . On 14 December, 2010, there was great excitement and jubilation in the Beehive when then-Corrections Minister Judith Collins announced; “This Government is committed to a world-class Corrections system in New Zealand. To achieve that, we must have access… ...

Press Release – New Zealand Labour Party Failure to get the TPP agreement across the line gives New Zealanders an opportunity to put more pressure on the Government not to sign away our sovereignty, Opposition leader Andrew Little says.ANDREW LITTLE… ...

Press Release – Green Party The Government should come clean about what concessions it has already made and what issues have been left on the TPP negotiating table, the Green Party said today. 1 August 2015 Time for the Govt… ...

Press Release – New Zealand Government Trade Minister Tim Groser is disappointed that the TPP negotiations were unable to reach a conclusion today, but TPP ministers collectively pledged to meet again as soon as possible to finalise the deal.Hon Tim&hellip; ...

Press Release – AFTINET The failure of TPP Ministers to reach agreement in what was supposed to be the final round of negotiations vindicates the deep concerns of community groups that the TPP is secretly trading away issues like access… ...

Press Release – Professor Jane Kelsey The final ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui has failed. Not opting to stay another day shows the gridlock is serious and potentially intractable, according to University of Auckland law… ...

Press Release – Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch Todays fourth final TPP ministerial without a deal means the clock has run on possible U.S. congressional votes in 2015. No deal means the TPP is thrown into the political maelstrom of… ...

Share this:

Related

Failure to get the TPP agreement across the line gives New Zealanders an opportunity to put more pressure on the Government not to sign away our sovereignty, Opposition leader Andrew Little says.“New Zealand land, dairy and medicines are up for… ...

After failing to protect the right to stop foreign speculators buying our houses it’s clear the Government is not going to get wins on dairy in their TPP negotiations either, Labour’s Trade and Export spokesperson David Parker says. “Labour has… ...

Yesterday the Rich List showed the number of people who have over 50 million of wealth had increased by another 15 people since last year. Collectively this group are now worth 55 billion, an increase of over 7% since last… ...

Yesterday the Rich List showed the number of people who have over 50 million of wealth had increased by another 15 people since last year. Collectively this group are now worth 55 billion, an increase of over 7% since last… ...

Yesterday the Rich List showed the number of people who have over 50 million of wealth had increased by another 15 people since last year. Collectively this group are now worth 55 billion, an increase of over 7% since last… ...

Former Social Development Minister Paula Bennett has been thrown under the bus by her successor after its been suggested that Ms Bennett gave the green light to an ‘unethical’ observational study of high-risk children, Labour Children’s spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.… ...

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Draft Transition Recovery Plan on behalf of the New Zealand Labour Party. It is important that the citizens of Canterbury have a voice in the governance of the next step of… ...

Yesterday the Government released the cabinet paper on progress on the work programme of the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence. Along with the Human Rights Commissioner and Women’s Refuge, I really welcome the report. I’m relieved that… ...

Yesterday the Government released the cabinet paper on progress on the work programme of the Ministerial Group on Family Violence and Sexual Violence. Along with the Human Rights Commissioner and Women’s Refuge, I really welcome the report. I’m relieved that… ...

In 2010, National rammed the Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Bill through Parliament. Paul Quinn’s Member’s Bill existed because Paul Quinn thought anyone who’d been imprisoned was a serious offender, and serious offenders had ‘forfeited’ their right to vote.… ...

The Government has been given a serve by New Zealand-based international trucking and logistics firm Mainfreight which says it lacks a national transport strategy, and has treated rail badly, Labour's Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford says. The company has told shareholders it… ...

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions is embarking on a campaign to fight the changes that weaken the Health and Safety Reform bill. As part of the campaign the CTU has organised vigils with the display of 291 crosses… ...

Farmers must be given every assurance that all potential risks have been considered before Silver Fern Farms opens its door to foreign equity, Labour’s Primary Industries spokesperson Damien O’Connor says. “The ongoing saga involving the meat sector and amalgamation has… ...

Labour has moved to have the second flag referendum canned if the first attracts fewer than half the eligible number of voters, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says. “John Key has already wasted more than $8 million on his vanity project… ...

New figures obtained by Labour show the ACC Minister’s botched motor vehicle levy system has resulted in 90,000 vehicles having to be reclassified so far – at a cost of $6 million, Labour’s ACC spokesperson Sue Moroney says. “Nikki Kaye’s… ...

Chronic under-funding by National has seen the health budget slashed by $1.7 billion in just five years, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says. A report by Infometrics, commissioned by Labour, shows health funding has been cut in four of the… ...

The news that two Serco inmates have been arrested for helping to run a methamphetamine ring from prison should be the final straw and see their contract cancelled, says Labour’s Corrections Spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “National has stood by Serco despite… ...

A proposal being considered by the Government would see some people having to pay more for health care and district health boards forced to fight amongst themselves to fund regional health services, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says “Information leaked… ...

The trouble with the Charter school model is that it is a publicly funded experiment on children. The National Government has consistently put its desire to open charter schools ahead of the safety of the children in them, ignoring repeated… ...

News that an unnamed bank in Ashburton has put a receiver on notice over financially vulnerable farmers will send a chill through rural New Zealand, says Labour’s Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson. “The Government needs to work with New Zealand’s banks… ...

John Key yesterday admitted what National dishonestly refused to confirm in Parliament last week – he is trading away New Zealand’s right to control who buys our homes and land, says Opposition leader Andrew Little. “The Prime Minister must now… ...

Plans by the Government to take a scalpel to democratically elected health boards are deceitful and underhand, coming just months after an election during which they were never signalled, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says “Leaked documents reveals a radical… ...

Corrections Spin Doctors sending their place holder lines to journalists instead of responding to serious allegations shows the scale of chaos at the department over the Serco scandal, says Labour’s Corrections Spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “As more and more serious allegations… ...

A High Court ruling that a law banning prisoners from voting is inconsistent with a properly functioning democracy should be a wake-up call for the Government, Labour’s Justice spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says. In an unprecedented ruling Justice Paul Heath has… ...

Congratulations are due to the Problem Gambling Foundation (PGFNZ) who have won their legal case around how the Ministry of Health decided to award their contracts for problem gambling services to another service provider. Congratulations are due not just for&hellip; ...

This week, the Environmental Protection Authority Amendment Bill passed its first reading in Parliament. The Bill puts protection of the environment into the core purpose of the Environmental Protection Authority. This month, Dr Allan Freeth, the former Chief Executive of… ...

The killing of a security guard on his first night on the job is exactly the kind of incident that National’s watered-down health and safety bill won’t prevent, says Te Atatu MP Phil Twyford. The coronial inquest into 22-year-old Charanpreet… ...

Increasing numbers of single parents are being penalised under a regime that is overly focussed on sanctions rather than getting more people into work, Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni says. “Figures, obtained through Parliamentary questions show 3000 more sanctions,… ...

Hekia Parata’s decision to keep troubled Whangaruru Charter school open despite being presented with a catalogue of failure defies belief, goes against official advice and breaks a Government promise to close these schools if they were failing, says Labour’s Education… ...

Yesterday I attended the launch of a new initiative developed by and for Asian, Middle eastern and African youth to support young people to name and get support if there is domestic violence at home. The impact on children of… ...

The Government’s handling of the Problem Gambling Foundation’s axing in a cost-cutting exercise has been ham-fisted and harmful to some of the most vulnerable people in society, Associate Health Labour spokesperson David Clark says.“Today’s court ruling overturning the axing of… ...

The Labour Party will not support the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement unless key protections for New Zealanders are met, Opposition leader Andrew Little says.“Labour supports free trade. However, we will not support a TPP agreement that undermines New Zealand’s sovereignty. ...

Resident doctors have advised that a severe staffing shortage at North Shore Hospital is putting patients’ lives at risk, Labour’s Health spokesperson Annette King says. “They say a mismatch between staffing levels and patient workloads at North Shore has… ...

Six months’ paid parental leave is back on the agenda and a step closer to reality for Kiwi parents after Labour’s new Member’s Bill was pulled from today’s ballot, the Bill’s sponsor and Labour MP Sue Moroney says. “My Bill… ...

New requirements for sole parents to undertake a reapplication process after a year is likely to mean a large number will face benefit cancellations, but not because they have obtained work, Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni says. “Increasing numbers… ...

Last week the government’s major initiative to combat child poverty (a paltry $25 increase) was exposed for what it is, a lie. The Government, through the Budget this year, claims to be engaging in the child poverty debate, but instead,… ...

The Reserve Bank's decision to cut the Official Cash Rate to 3 per cent shows there is no encore for the so-called 'rock star' economy, says Labour's Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson. "Today's interest rate cut comes off the back… ...

In my short 33 years on this planet we’ve seen phenomenal technological, economic and social change, and it’s realistic to expect the next 33 will see even more, even faster change. You can see it in the non-descript warehouse near… ...

A Bill that puts the environment squarely into legislation governing the Environmental Protection Authority passed its first reading today, says Meka Whaitiri. “I introduced this member’s bill as the current law doesn’t actually make protecting the environment a goal of… ...

KiwiSaver statistics released today expose John Key's claim that the cutting of the kickstart payment "will not make a blind bit of difference to the number of people who join KiwiSaver” to be duplicitous, says Labour Finance Spokesperson Grant Robertson. “Official… ...

All New Zealanders should be treated fairly at work. Currently, the law allows non-employment relationships to be used to get around the minimum wage. This is unfair, says Labour MP David Parker. “The Minimum Wage (Contractor Remuneration) Amendment Bill, a… ...

The Government’s rubber-stamping of every one of the nearly 400 applications from overseas investors to buy New Zealand farm land over the last three years proves tougher laws are needed, Labour MP Phil Goff says. “In the last term of… ...

John Key must ditch the flag referendum before any more taxpayer money is wasted, Opposition Leader Andrew Little says. “Millions of dollars could be saved if the Prime Minister called a halt to this hugely expensive, and highly unpopular, vanity… ...

Government members have prevented Parliament’s Law and Order select committee from getting answers out of a senior Serco director about the fight clubs being run at Mt Eden prisons, says Labour’s Corrections Spokesperson Kelvin Davis. “At today’s Law and Order… ...

Share this:

Related

For 19 people in West Auckland, home is living and sleeping on the streets of Waitakere. Their story and the circumstances of their life is captured in the latest report of The Salvation Army, “Hard Times”. The report details an… ...

For 19 people in West Auckland, home is living and sleeping on the streets of Waitakere. Their story and the circumstances of their life is captured in the latest report of The Salvation Army, “Hard Times”. The report details an… ...

It is long past time the New Zealand Government took the people into its confidence and explained their position on the TPPA. There is a lot of information floating about through leaks on Wikileaks etc but our elected representative along… ...

It is long past time the New Zealand Government took the people into its confidence and explained their position on the TPPA. There is a lot of information floating about through leaks on Wikileaks etc but our elected representative along… ...

It is long past time the New Zealand Government took the people into its confidence and explained their position on the TPPA. There is a lot of information floating about through leaks on Wikileaks etc but our elected representative along… ...

Te Kaha And Endeavour Berth in Auckland The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS TE KAHA and tanker HMNZS ENDEAVOUR returned to the Devonport Naval Base this morning after being deployed since early this year. The ships entered Auckland harbour… ...

“The Prime Minister and the Trade Negotiations Minister have been handed a golden opportunity to shore up flagging support for the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement”, says Democrats for Social Credit Deputy Leader, Chris Leitch. ...

In commemoration of the one year anniversary of the murder of nearly 2000 captive Palestinians in Gaza, taxpayers will today picket the NZ Superfund office to oppose the investment of New Zealanders money into companies which profit off Israel’s ...

The Human Rights Commission is preparing to intervene in a Bible in Schools case in the High Court in Auckland, and this could even up the odds in what was shaping up to be a David v Goliath battle. ...

The stalling of yesterday’s TPPA negotiations in Maui provide light relief for the citizens of New Zealand, but we cannot be complacent in thinking that our Government will not continue on signing our country up to a deal that may… ...

Everyone who has opposed the introduction of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) into their districts needs to be alarmed at the way central Government is moving to over-ride local council regulations about this matter, says Kelvin Davis, Labour ...

‘The “final” ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui has failed. Not opting to stay another day shows the gridlock is serious and potentially intractable’, according to University of Auckland law professor ...

Retailers will be pleased by news reports that Revenue Minister Todd McClay is taking a paper to Cabinet this month that will allow New Zealand retailers to compete on a fair basis with foreign websites by substantially reducing the threshold… ...

Lisa Owen: Now, changing tack now. Nancy Gibbs is the first woman to lead the iconic Time magazine. What's more, she's leading it into the digital age with her appointment in 2013, heralding a shake-up in the magazine's online offerings.… ...

Headlines: With sanctions being lifted on Iran, McCully says there are big opportunities for New Zealand businesses in Iran and some have been giving the market a lot of thought. “…the opportunities are significant in the short-term and even bigger… ...

Foreign Minister Murray McCully talks to Tova O’Brien in New York about what opportunities the Iran deal creates for New Zealand, whether the families of the MH17 victims will ever get justice, and he has stern words for the world’s… ...

The Pharmacy Guild of New Zealand (the Guild) is keen to learn more about how the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will impact New Zealand’s health sector if it is accepted by the Government. ...

Secrecy of TPPA documents heads to court A legal challenge to the secrecy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations will be launched in the High Court next week. An urgent application for judicial review will challenge Trade Minister ...

Navy Ships Arriving Home After Long Deployments The frigate HMNZS TE KAHA and tanker HMNZS ENDEAVOUR will arrive at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland at 10am this Sunday 2 August, after long overseas deployments. Over 1100 family and friends… ...

Social Service Providers Aotearoa (SSPA) is concerned about the potential for a proposed study on new born children to go awry unless the paramountcy principle of commitment to the Care and Protection of Children is upheld. This commitment means that… ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

Responding to the report that Auckland’s Councillors and Mayor Len Brown look set for a 2.3 per cent pay increase, just days after voting to increase the average rates burden by 9.9 per cent, Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesperson, Carmel Claridge, says: ...

After 3 years of legal battle the government has now agreed to make full offers to commercial and vacant land owners whose properties were illegally red-zoned. However it decided to single out self-insured homeowners and offers nothing for their homes. ...

Strong response to Draft Transition Recovery Plan The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has started analysing more than 2500 written comments received on the transition of recovery arrangements in greater Christchurch. The Recovery Plan ...

Heard you were able to get back to your dad’s turangawaewae last week. Mean … hope you had a good catch up with the whanau. I also hear you’re getting ready to endorse the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), and I’m… ...

The family of Lecretia Seales has decided not to appeal the High Court decision in the case of Seales v. Attorney General released to the public by Justice Collins last month on June 5th. Ms Seales passed away several hours… ...

Auckland’s only centre-right Mayoral candidate Stephen Berry says in light of massive rates increases it is inappropriate for the Mayor or any Councillors to be accepting a pay increase. “I propose that until such time as the Council passes a… ...

Predictive risk model in the prevention of child abuse – UNICEF NZ urges caution Research and testing of a predictive risk model to assist in identifying and responding to children at risk of child abuse is important work but must… ...

"Dow AgroSciences, Fonterra and Methanex are three named sponsors of Taranaki Regional Council's Environmental Awards. Their sponsorships makes a total mockery of these awards. This is akin to a weapons manufacturer sponsoring a peace scholarship" ...

Wikileaks has just posted a ‘guidance’ document for TPPA ministers on SOE-related issues ( https://wikileaks.org/tpp-soe-minister/ ). Although dated December 2013, Professor Jane Kelsey, a law professor from the University of Auckland who has monitored ...

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Source: Professor Jane Kelsey. Professor Jane Kelsey. ‘The “final” ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui… ...

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. Statement of Lori Wallach, Director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch – Yet Another ‘Final’ TPP Ministerial and Again No Deal; Not… ...

Michael Woodhouse. Image courtesy of TheStandard.org.nz. Analysis by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz. On Q+A (TVNZ) on 12 July, Michael Woodhouse, Minister for Workplace Relations and Safety discussed ‘Zero-Hour’ labour contracts as a subset… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.com MGSM Release: Sydney and Melbourne property prices have grown at more than 15 per cent per annum over the last three years, outperforming any other Australian markets and creating a bubble, says Nobel Prize winning economist Professor… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comNew Zealanders love their holidays and according to recent data released by Statistics NZ, last month alone 198,800 kiwis took a vacation. For the year ending June 2015, over 2.3 million New Zealanders left New Zealand to… ...

Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Dr Bryce Edwards. Should we celebrate the super rich in New Zealand or see their growing wealth as a cause of inequality and division? The publication of the NBR’s latest annual Rich List… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 7 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Friday 31st July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include the progress of the controversial controversial Health and Safety Reform Bill… ...

Source: Professor Jane Kelsey. Professor Jane Kelsey. A legal challenge to the secrecy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) negotiations will be launched in the High Court next week.An urgent application for judicial review will challenge Trade… ...

Source:Smokefreerockquest – Nelson Media Agency – Press Release/Statement: Headline: SMOKEFREEROCKQUEST 2015 NATIONAL FINALISTS ANNOUNCEDThe top nine Smokefreerockquest national finalists were announced today, the crème of the 700 bands and solo/duos who entered the nationwide youth music contest this year.Contenders… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Amanda CarringtonWellington celebrated a milestone last weekend, reaching 150 years as New Zealand’s capital. Thousands of Wellingtonians were enticed to explore the many churches, universities, museums and government buildings the city has to offer. But… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comThe speech text below was used by Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully used to open the Open Debate: Peace and security challenges facing Small Island Developing States, at the UN Security Council, July 30, 2015 (New York… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 6 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Thursday 30th July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include information showing that Social Development Minister Anne Tolley has confined anew… ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on Scoop.co.nz.On Morning Report on Friday (24 July), I heard the following exchange between Guyon Espiner and Finance Minister, Bill English.Guyon Espiner: “So what’s the good bit about allowing… ...

Source: Scope Media – PERRIAM. Merino sheep being mustered on Bendigo Station overlooking, Lake Dunstan. Luxury merino fashion brand PERRIAM has been selected for a special showcase on wool in fashion at the prestigious New Zealand Fashion Week… ...

…he can do anything he wants….his suit is 100% NASA-engineered teflon & stuff… …so it’s been such an amazing run that el presidente recently decided on a make over and costuming – because he can…because he can do what… ...

Political roundup by Dr Bryce Edwards Dr Bryce Edwards. $100,000 a year to imprison a person is a lot of money. That’s the striking figure at the centre of the current prison scandal and debate, in a country… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 5 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Wednesday 29th July.NEWSROOM_MONITORTop stories in the current news cycle include the possibility of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks coming… ...

Investigation by Carolyn Skelton.Negative side effects of isotretinoinIn my research of the acne last resort drug, isotretinoin, I came across a couple of issues related to the impact of Big Pharma, Pharmac, and potential impacts of the TPP.… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 5 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 28th July.NEWSROOM_MONITOR Top stories in the current news cycle include more leaked documents that show the funding of District Health Boards… ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This article was also published on Scoop.co.nz.In response to my Money, Flow and Debt (Daily Blog and Evening Report, 25 July 2015) one reader responded to my comments about money hoarding and compensatory debt&hellip; ...

Source: Hot Topic – By Gareth Renowden – Analysis published with permission of Hot-Topic.co.nz Headline: A tale of two hemispheres At the end of June, Professor Jim Renwick of Victoria University gave his inaugural lecture. As you might expect of… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 9 links for the day from Monday 27th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include concerns over a leaked document that reportedly shows the Government plans an overhaul to the governance of… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 9 links for the day from Monday 27th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include concerns over a leaked document that reportedly shows the Government plans an overhaul to the governance of… ...

Source: Asia Pacific Lawyers Network.“Evidence is mounting of increasing numbers of internet romantics and international travellers risking their lives after being deceived, coerced and ultimately exploited by sophisticated international drug cartels,” New Zealand death penalty defence… ...

…exactly when am i a journalist? …the hager case has raised some big issues…is it time to professionalise journalism? …personally i think the hand-writing a tag or a name sticker that says “reporter” is the standard we should… ...

Eyes of Fire (fifth edition) launched Friday July 10, 2015. Opinion piece by Professor David Robie of AUT’s School of Communication Studies – David travelled on board the Rainbow Warrior for 10 weeks before the bombing and wrote the book&hellip; ...

Analysis by Keith Rankin – This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz.To sort out our intransigent economic problems, ordinary people need to understand how things actually work today and how things do not work. The peasants need to challenge… ...

Report by Alistar Kata – Pacific Media Centre/Pacific Media Watch.AUCKLAND (Pacific Media Watch): Most audiences are used to seeing Wairere Tame Iti as the Māori activist, who most notably shot the Australian flag at a 2005 Waitangi Tribunal… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 4 links for the day of Friday 24th July.Top stories in the current news cycle include more concerns about effects of the Government’s tougher welfare policy and the… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.com – Contributed by Olexander BarnesWellington is the city where the vampire film “What we do in the Shadows” takes place, but there are more dangers on our streets than just vampires. Living Streets Aotearoa and the Urban Design… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comIt may be a fact of the news cycle that Thursday night’s release of research focused on asthma health literacy for Māori children in New Zealand – He Māramatanga Huangō – wasn’t destined to make the 6pm bulletin.… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Amanda CarringtonNew research from a Victoria University professor shows a longer parole period will decrease the risk of prisoners reoffending. Psychology professor Devon Polaschek’s work Surviving the first year explores how prisoners who are… ...

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup – The Housing apartheid problem Dr Bryce Edwards. There’s a social divide opening up in New Zealand cities, especially Auckland, over home ownership. But is the division about race or wealth? And what can… ...

Containing the impacts in NZ: Acne and isotretinoin IIIInvestigation by Carolyn Skelton.In my previous pieces I addressed problems with acne and a last resort anti-acne drug (isotretinoin); a drug which has tended towards being overused and under-regulated. Many… ...

Source: Royal New Zealand Ballet A magical world premiere from the RNZB – The Vodafone Season of A Midsummer Night’s DreamIn an unprecedented artistic coup the Royal New Zealand Ballet has commissioned one of the world’s most sought after choreographers… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 5 links for the day of Thursday 23rd July.Top stories in the current news cycle include a report from ACClaim Otago, a support group for injured people that… ...

Report by NewsroomPlus.comContributed by Olexander BarnesDebates on issues like euthanasia deserve the widest possible audience. It was fitting then that the lecture hall in the Otago campus next to Wellington hospital was packed full of people, all eager to… ...

Source: Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand New Civil Aviation Rules for unmanned aircraft coming into force next week will improve aviation safety for operators, other airspace users and people and property. Civil Aviation Rule Part 102… ...

Source:Reserve Bank of New Zealand Reserve Bank Governor Graeme Wheeler announced this morning that the Reserve Bank has reduced the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 3.0 percent.Graeme Wheeler said the global economic growth remains moderate,… ...

Peter Godfrey and Selwyn Manning. Selwyn Manning and Australian radio station FiveAA’s Peter Godfrey deliver their weekly bulletin, Across The Ditch. This week New Zealand’s Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Inga under pressure to resign after scandalous and tragic… ...

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest contains 8 media release snippets and 4 links for the day of Tuesday 22nd July.Top stories in the current news cycle include Parliament unanimously passing legislation to fix a legal loophole that would have… ...

From The Virtual Desk of Ant Timpson. It all started with a synopsis and a poster submitted to a film competition. From 500 submissions, one winner emerged victorious. The filmmaker’s name was Jason Lei Howden and his winning idea was… ...